Pedro Acosta leads the World Championship after Thailand – KTM has massively improved tire wear and turning – “I might be in chill mode,” grins the Spaniard calmly
Pedro Acosta and KTM had a successful start to the 2026 MotoGP season in Thailand. The Spaniard celebrated his first victory in the premier class in the sprint, even though this triumph does not count towards the Grand Prix victory statistics.
In the long race, Acosta took second place behind Marco Bezzecchi’s superior Aprilia. After the first race weekend, Acosta leads the World Championship for the first time. It is also KTM’s first World Championship lead in the MotoGP class. “Yes, it’s great to start the season like this,” said a delighted Acosta. “I remember last year we really struggled to get into the top 10 here.” That’s why he expressly praises: “KTM is doing a really good job.”
One aspect was tire wear over the race distance. That was KTM’s big Achilles’ heel last year. The engineers focused on this in addition to improving turning behavior. With success, as Buriram has shown.
“It looks like we’ve improved the tire’s lifespan,” confirms Acosta. “Let’s see how it goes on other tracks in Europe and even in Brazil, but we’re managing it better somehow. The pit crew is also working better.”
“Last year, we had the problem everywhere, not just at the end of the races. We just suffered a lot more. But I say: we still have to keep working in all areas, because you can see that Aprilia and Ducati are still super fast in qualifying.”
That’s why Acosta sees qualifying as the next step that needs to improve in order to increase the chances in the race. In Buriram, he qualified in sixth place on the second row of the grid, four tenths of a second behind.
If he had started from the front row, he might have been able to keep up with Bezzecchi. That’s why Acosta says about qualifying: “That would make our lives a lot easier. It’s true, we’re not as bad as last year, but we still have a way to go.”
KTM lacks a little speed on the straights
KTM has improved turning and optimized tire wear, but Acosta struggled in the duel on the straights. This was particularly evident in the sprint duel with Marc Marquez’s Ducati, when he came up short on the home straight.
Acosta’s best top speed over the weekend was 341.7 km/h in qualifying. The Aprilias of Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin were clocked at 345.0 km/h in qualifying, and Francesco Bagnaia’s fastest Ducati also reached this speed.
“We know that our top speed isn’t great this year compared to Ducati and Aprilia. I struggled in the first two sectors of the track,” said Acosta, referring to the two long straights. However, he did very well in the twisty section thanks to better turning.
This sector also suits him as a rider: “Even in the other classes, I always had a fast fourth sector here. That was the only place where I could overtake because you have that last braking point there. That was my only trump card that I could use.”
Acosta really enjoyed the numerous duels. Especially the battle with Marc Marquez in the sprint, but also in the Grand Prix with Jorge Martin, again with Marc Marquez, and finally with Raul Fernandez.
“Yes, I enjoyed it just like in my Moto3 days,” says Acosta with a grin, “that’s when I usually made overtaking maneuvers like that. I’m in a really good phase right now, enjoying every second of the duel with Jorge in the race.”
Acosta sees himself as a better rider in his third season
It is also striking that Acosta has not crashed yet this year. He did not go down during the five days of testing or during the first race weekend. “I’m making fewer mistakes than two years ago and even than last year,” he says.
“Last year, especially at the beginning of the season, I wasn’t nervous, but when the situation was out of control, I always made mistakes or crashed or went too far or whatever.”
“That may not have been the way to build confidence. Now I’m maybe in chill mode, let’s say, and even in bad moments I use my head more. Maybe that’s the biggest difference.“
That’s why the World Championship leader isn’t making any big announcements after his strong opening weekend. When asked if his goals have changed after Thailand, he answers clearly: ”The goal is still the same: don’t make any mistakes.”
Does he still think a World Championship title is realistic? “You never know. In the end, we have to stay calm, do the work we do, know where we stand, and not expect more than we can deliver. So let’s stay calm. I’ve been leading the World Championship for more than just one day now. That’s cool!” The next race won’t take place for another two weeks in Brazil.
